West Aurora’s Rashidi Meso never has to worry about feeling out of place.

The junior forward is one of several players on the team who hails from Tanzania. Along with teammates Patient Yuha and Eloi Niyibizi, Meso shares a free and uninhibited style of play that features a distinct creativity with the ball.

“My game is based on the team and how we like to play, with the long ball and pushing it out wide and getting the ball out top,” Meso said. “Whenever I get the ball, I always look to the goalkeeper and see how he reacts. If he comes out, I know to try to get the ball past him.”

Meso scored two goals in the second half Saturday, powering the Blackhawks to a 2-0 win over the host Raiders in the Class 3A Bolingbrook Regional championship game.

Second-seeded West Aurora (17-3-2) captured its first regional title since 2002. The Blackhawks will play third-seeded Oswego (18-2-2) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in a Geneva Sectional semifinal.

Meso has become more comfortable with each game. He also scored the Blackhawks’ first goal and added an assist in a 9-1 regional semifinal victory over Plainfield East.

Mike Mantucca / The Beacon-News

West Aurora's Andy Emile (12) celebrates with Rashidi Meso (16) and Axel Sanchez (10) after scoring a goal against Plainfield East during a Class 3A Bolingbrook Regional semifinal on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.

West Aurora’s contingent of African-born players has a special connection. They posed for an impromptu photo afterward in Bolingbrook’s parking lot to celebrate.

“We all get motivation from each other’s success,” Meso said. “After I scored my first goal, everybody just wanted to keep going and play harder.”

West Aurora faces a stern test in Oswego, which has one of the state’s leading scorers in senior forward Omar Carreno. He has 35 goals and 10 assists for the Panthers, who at 17-0-1 are riding an 18-game unbeaten streak.

“It doesn’t matter what seed they are,” Niyibizi said. “A game is a game and a team is a team. Everybody you play now is dangerous. We just go into the game knowing we have to play our style.”

The stakes get higher with each stage of the playoffs. Senior forward Andy Emile believes West Aurora will be ready.

“This is like a dream come true,” Emile said. “Last year, we tried really hard to get to this point, but we lost in the first game of the regional.

“Now we just want to see how far we can go. We all want to get to the top.”